A “Sense-sational” Event for Kids
What do you call a nurse dressed in a box covered with tiny
pom-poms, two more dancing to loud music, and another asking kids
to find the jar that smells like dirty socks?
They’re “sense-sational!”
In March, 12 Good Samaritan Nursing Center interns and fellows,
who work for the College of Nursing, pulled off four days of fun,
interactive learning for approximately 950 third- through
fifth-grade students – an event dubbed “Sense-sation Mania.”
The children who attended Sense-sation Mania came from
elementary schools in Bourbon, Fayette, Madison, Montgomery and
Scott counties.
The students learned about all five senses through areas such
as “Surfing the Sound Waves,” “Pungent Passage,” and
“The ‘Eyes’ Have It.” The community health nurse educators
explained things like why people might be far- or near-sighted,
why we have cilia in our noses, and why it doesn’t hurt when our
hair is cut. The kids learned some amazing things about the senses
– such as that we all have a blind spot, that not everyone
identifies smells in the same way, and that we detect different
kinds of taste on different parts of the tongue.
Just as importantly, the students learned how to protect their
senses. For example, they were surprised to learn that just 15
minutes in a dance hall playing loud music would damage their
hearing.
All the presentations were designed to meet National Health
Education Standards, identified Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA)
goals, and the Practical Living Skills portion of the Commonwealth
Accountability Testing System (CATS) test.
The event was sponsored by the Good Samaritan Nursing Center of
the UK College of Nursing and funded by the Good Samaritan
Foundation. The foundation is a Kentucky grant-making public
philanthropy devoted to health-related education, promotion and
research.
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